Maybe not, but the direction of the game today is obsolescence. Once bowling becomes horseshoes, game over, literally.

Why spend big $$$ on buildings and expensive machines, when any open field can produce as much exercise and enjoyment?

My cronies and I had a conversation with our lane guy this morning. We talked about varying the shot over different lanes within the same league. Nobody would know what the shot was, even on their own pair. Each lane in a pair might be different.

Everyone likes to throw their best shots, but when everyone can do it, without any real skill, then the game suffers.

In the game I remember, strikes were at a premium. Those who were great spare shooters had an advantage. Today, it's all about striking percent. RPM's and speed.

Nothing depresses me more than to watch a young person throw with 2 hands, get 500 RPM's, saw out the 5 and have the messenger miss the 10. When they make their attempt at the 10, all that power is useless and as they whiff the 10, they look like a giraffe trying to get a drink at a waterhole :-)

Isn't this the truth. My friend at the bowling alley said the Kegel machine is much simpler than the Brunswick machine they bought. the Brunswick machine has many more parts. More parts equals more potential things to break and need replacement. They had a small box with a lot of parts in it. I'm not sure if all of the parts were replaced or if that was a new supply of spare parts.

It was our Brunswick machine that broke. The older Kegel machine is being used now. I was told they are getting a new machine. I would be happy with the Kegel. It laid a good THS down last week.

Lane machines have become an integral part of bowling center proprietorship and are a necessary evil for the sport to continue. It's all about controlling expenses to stay in business. The most advanced machines (when functioning properly) need no human intervention other than to program and turn them on. They roll themselves from lane to lane automatically, they don't get tired and they don't demand a salary. In a 40-lane center, it just makes sense to automate as much as possible.

Honestly 82Boat69, the USBC isn't going to do anything constructive. They continually harp about "Protecting the integrity of the sport" but have little positive results to show. Many people I know see the USBC as the "bad guy" due to their inconsistent behavior.

USBC membership has been in decline for decades. USBC changes have done nothing to stop the bleeding. Bowlers interest continues to decay and the attraction of new bowlers? (See my recent post entitled "Future of bowling")

You can't put all the blame on bowlers whining about difficult conditions. Bowling proprietors want to make the conditions easier to attract more business. Obviously the self interest of proprietors are taking prior over the "sanctity" of the sport. On the same vein, the more centers fail and close, the more the sport dies with them. It's a dammed if you do, dammed if you don't situation.

I grew up during the era of "you got what you put into the ball" ball reaction. The down and in straight shot was all I could produce back then. I retired for 20+ years and then returned to a game where on a good day, my ball moves 5 - 15 boards, on a bad day, 20+ boards.

The current generation is not willing to give up "hook in a box" in my opinion.

First, USBC serves at the will of the bowling public. They have no legal right to control bowling. Anyone who wants to take over can lobby the public and do so.

Next, bowling has a very low profit margin for the amount of capital expenditure required. That means as a business, bowling is very high risk.

Just look at the space required for a typical 40 lane house. Building a new facility is problematic for any environment where people spend more time outdoors than indoors. I live in CA and where I bowl is busy compared to most. Still, more people are outside than in when the weather is nice.

Next, maintaining a bowling alley isn't for the faint of heart. When I was a kid working in a house with A2's, the PMS manuals for the A2 was 4 inches thick. Not something a minimum wage person in off the street can do.

The buildings are a nightmare and usually fall in to disrepair the fastest, because of expense.

Even the mechanical scoring systems in place today require a substantial outlay, not to mention some kind of IT background to maintain.

The lanes and approaches are another nightmare to keep up. Just a single lane machine can run well over $100K.

The overhead usually is enough to scare most off. That's why most establishments are run by organizations or former bowlers.

Finally, bowling has no price elasticity. Proprietors can't charge what they need, so are forced to make up the difference in the bar or game rooms or something else. Not easy to do.

If I was sitting on a piece of property like I just described, I'd sell my equipment off and become a strip mall, car dealership or furniture showroom :-)

I agree. I think USBC should begin to wean the MFG's off big hooking balls. Everything new, should be more restricted and that needs to be kept up for at least a decade, if the game can last that long.

probably, simple rules to oil patterns, could force MFR's into a totally different direction. Still, because USBC can't 'make' anyone do anything, whether the public will stay with it is a big question.

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